ALBERTSONS-SUPERVALU INTEGRATION ON TRACK

MINNEAPOLIS - The first quarter of combined results of Supervalu and the Albertsons stores it purchased earlier this year revealed better earnings and a smoother financial integration than some analysts expected, though overall retail sales were sluggish."It was a solid quarter, comfortably better than expected on the earnings front," Jay Whitmer, analyst, Cleveland Research, Cleveland, told SN. "The

MINNEAPOLIS - The first quarter of combined results of Supervalu and the Albertsons stores it purchased earlier this year revealed better earnings and a smoother financial integration than some analysts expected, though overall retail sales were sluggish.

"It was a solid quarter, comfortably better than expected on the earnings front," Jay Whitmer, analyst, Cleveland Research, Cleveland, told SN. "The accretion from this deal is clearly better than expected out of the chute."